Parents received weekly newsletters during the intervention which contained information about activities and resources relating to fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity at home. In the Sustainability via Active Garden Education (SAGE) study, a curriculum with a focus on gardening and the use of games and songs was created to teach preschoolers residing in lower-income areas, serving predominantly Hispanic or Latino families about healthy eating and promoting physical activity. These studies have focused on White samples, have not included community-engaged approaches, have not evaluated parents of preschoolers’ perceptions of these materials, and have not been linked to hands-on ECE garden-based learning. Studies with preschoolers and kindergarteners showed consistent findings that providing parents with information on increasing fruit and vegetable intake contributed to favorable outcomes in children’s dietary habits and health. These programs provided simple information and messages to parents about nutrition and followed up with them. Nutrition programs centered around the family for children ages 12 and younger increased intake of fruit and vegetables and decreased fat intake. Strategies used to engage parents in past interventions include newsletters, phone calls, and the use of workbooks. Įngaging parents in school-based interventions that aim to increase healthy eating habits and physical activity generally improves outcomes. Parent involvement has a salient role in interventions that aim to promote healthy lifestyle habits in preschool children. Language barriers in Hispanic families can make it harder to find and use physical activity resources outside of the neighborhood. In addition, parents directly influence the availability of fruits and vegetables at home, provide support for children’s physical activity, and discourage sedentary time, depending on the cost of organized physical activity and transportation. Parenting practices, such as role modeling healthy lifestyles and involving children in family meals and activity planning, can improve child-healthy habits. Parents may inadvertently encourage overeating to prevent hunger, indulge or reward children with less healthy foods (e.g., candy, sugar-sweetened beverages), perceive their parenting efforts to promote healthy eating as unsuccessful, or face other barriers to healthy eating, such as schedules and lack of access to healthy foods. In addition to ECE influences on a healthy diet and physical activity, parent and family cultural beliefs, access to fresh food, and cooking are also important, making it key to engage parents and family members alongside ECE-based efforts. Early care and education (ECE) sites are key locations for interventions that aim to prevent childhood obesity, particularly for those participating in nationally sponsored meal and physical activity programming. At the same time, 15% of Hispanic children with parents born in the United States and 17–23% of those with immigrant parents do not participate in any vigorous activity, compared to 9% of non-Hispanic whites. Nationally, 13.9% of Hispanic preschool children ages 2–5 are obese -4 times more prevalent than non-Hispanic whites. Newsletter outreach methods are a simple strategy to add value to preschool-based interventions promoting healthy families.Ĭhildhood obesity, defined as a body mass index (BMI) at or above the 95th percentile for height and weight, increases the likelihood of developing obesity and chronic diseases in adulthood such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Few reported doing featured physical activity (8.9%) and fruit and vegetable (12.7%) community activities. Most reported doing physical activities from the newsletters (51.9%). Favorite newsletter components included recipes, pictures of their children and seasonal produce spotlights. Most reported receiving newsletters nearly all reported that they were helpful. Most participants were Hispanic (>78%) and women (>95%). Parents rated frequency of receipt, helpfulness, satisfaction, and use of content. Messages linked SAGE curriculum topics with home and community activities. The content was generated via a community advisory board participatory process. Newsletters were sent home with children to promote family opportunities to increase physical activity and fruit and vegetable intake. This paper describes parent outreach in the Sustainability via Active Garden Education (SAGE) study. Physical activity and nutrition preschool programming must involve parents in positive long-term healthy habits.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |